I took Drake's hand, trying to diffuse the situation.
Keith held up his hands and backed away. "Sorry."
"This is Keith," I said. "He's one of the artists who uses Nathaniel's studio. Keith, this is Drake, my…" I hesitated. Boyfriend sounded so juvenile. Partner sounded so professional. I certainly wasn’t going to say Dominant…
"I'm her boyfriend," Drake said authoritatively.
Keith nodded and went back to his drawing table.
We returned to the apartment in Chelsea and I showered once more, then dressed in something really pretty, spending extra time on my makeup and hair. I put on perfume and chose my cream cashmere sweater with the mother of pearl buttons and made sure to leave a few buttons undone. I did everything I could think of to look my best so that Drake would be glad he had me, when I did tell him the truth.
So instead of walking to my father's as I had planned, Drake drove us. I'd tell Drake about Kurt after lunch, after we had sex when he was basking in some nice post-orgasm endorphins. I'd tell him the truth – that I was trying to escape Kurt, but he wouldn't let me and I had to finally run away from him and tell him to leave me alone, that I was happy with Drake.
I hoped it would be enough so that Drake didn't get the wrong idea, but I felt so incredibly guilty about not telling him right away, I wanted to kick myself in the butt. If he was mad, he had every right. I'd accept his anger and apologize for not telling him. I'd promise to always tell him everything from then on.
I hoped it would be enough. Drake said he was very jealous and even though he had no reason to be, I knew the photograph was suggestive. If I didn't know better, even I would think there was something intimate going on between us after seeing that picture.
I hoped that Drake never saw that photo and that I would merely have to tell him that I had spoken to Kurt and that he was as annoying and upsetting as he had been before.
During the ride to my father's, I crossed my fingers and hoped that would be the case. Then I remembered the video of him with Sunita – one more thing I hadn't told Drake.
I swallowed back my anxiety and tried to smile but it was empty.
We arrived at the apartment on Park Avenue and Drake dropped me off. He said he had an errand to run and would be back in fifteen minutes. When pressed, he wouldn't reveal what it was so I gave up and went upstairs by myself. I was greeted by the scent of something delicious – fresh garlic and white wine. Maybe pasta or crepes – Elaine made both and very well. After hanging up my coat and removing my boots, I popped into my dad's office but he wasn't there for a change. I heard him in the bathroom, humming away while he shaved. He was late getting ready. Probably taking it really easy after being sick for the past week.
"Hi, Daddy," I said through the door.
"Hey, sweetheart," he said, opening the door a crack. "Glad you're here. Elaine's in the kitchen making your favorite – Chicken Alfredo. You go in and say hi. I'll be out in a minute."
"Great," I said, smiling as he closed the door.
I popped into the kitchen and watched as Elaine finished tossing a salad, the Chicken Alfredo cooking in a saucepan. To the side was a carton of heavy cream, a triangle of Parmigiano Reggiano, and a bottle of white wine. A bag of fresh fettuccini noodles sat to the side.
"Hi, honey," she said when she saw me standing in the doorway. "Where's Drake?"
"He said he had an errand to run so he dropped me off first. He should be back soon."
She put down a cloth she was using to wipe the counters and came to me, giving me a hug. Then she frowned and looked at me firmly.
"Did you read this morning's papers?"
I sighed, knowing immediately what she meant.
"You mean the Weekly?"
She nodded. "I didn't know Kurt was back in the US. Why did they say he was your escort? What happened?"
I bit my bottom lip. "He wasn’t my escort but he was there. As soon as I saw him, I left. You can ask Nigel. Kurt followed me outside and wouldn't leave me alone and so I took a taxi home. But before I could get away, someone snapped a picture."
"Has Drake seen it?"
I exhaled heavily. "No," I said, covering my eyes with a hand. "I didn’t tell him about Kurt being there. I honestly didn't think anyone would publish any pictures of us. Besides, Drake was sick and well, I decided I would tell him when he was feeling better…"
"You didn’t tell Drake?"
I shook my head. "I tried to tell him later but he put me off. I know that was wrong, but I didn’t want him to have any doubts about me. It meant nothing to me to see Kurt again. It was just upsetting. Drake's really jealous and—"